Friday, May 22, 2020

Hole In One, how about two...

On Wednesday May 20th, our very first hole in one of the 2020 season was made by Art Pingree on the 12th hole. Any time you have a hole in one at the club it's a great day but only two hours later we had our second. Andy Andreoff made a hole in one on the 4th hole during his round as well. It's great to see that we've started the year off with a bang!


Art sharing his special moment on the 12th hole.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Enjoy the walk!

Our season looks like it could begin any time over the next few weeks. The one thing people have been doing a lot during that time is walking to get out and enjoy the outdoors. For some of you that may lead to increased walking on the course and to assist you we have the ClicGear M4 push cart available now in the golf shop. The Clicgear Model 4 is the latest update of Clicgear’s very successful three wheel golf pushcart design. Clicgear has added several improvements to the original design to make this the best model ever. These include, increased cargo net storage by 80% for even more room. Added a new Easy-Clip Bag Strap System that makes it easier to adjust and fit your bag on the cart, no matter the size or type of bag.


Friday, May 8, 2020

Wildlife at Whitevale

A family of Canadian Geese swimming and grazing on hole #4 on the evening of May 8th. Photo credit to Mike Gritzan.



Thursday, May 7, 2020

What's in the Golf Shop for 2020

Every year we look forward to seeing our members once the better weather arrives. For this year we will be dealing with many changes on how we interact with members until the current situation improves. One of our challenges is interacting with members and showing them what we have available in the golf shop. So our members can see what we have, we will continue to promote our products through the Info Tee, social media and the blog. Below are products from Lija, Ecco and Sun Ice who's lines are in stock just in time for Mother's Day.




Tuesday, May 5, 2020

WGC and Covid-19 Update - May 5

You’ve no doubt heard the news that Ontario golf courses can now get ready to open. It’s a good thing that we’ve been doing that already because there is so much to do to start the season. And this year brings even more, with limited staff, questions about startup procedures and many questions about how we will operate through the year.

As Sean (and Blair) have been telling you, the golf course is in very good shape and for the most part the physical work left is to get the bunkers ready.

Our last financial forecast (Sean has been doing a lot of these lately) was based on a June 1 golf course opening without the Clubhouse, and using the assumptions it contains, we believe that we will meet this forecast.  We’ve trimmed expenses a lot to do that though, and we will need to collect as much revenue as possible to be able to keep the golf course in top shape and provide the facilities you expect. Once it is feasible to do so, we’ll need your help with the revenue, doings things such as bringing guests, renting power carts, purchasing from the Pro Shop rather than other golf retailers and helping sell equity shares.

One question we’ve been asked is “What is going to happen to the house minimums?” For obvious reasons, we’ve waived the first 3-month house minimum. We can’t expect people to pay a minimum when there isn’t an operating food & beverage function.

We have also been asked what rules will be in place on day one and how did we decide upon them.  About 10 days ago we set up a small committee consisting of Sean DeSilva, Ryan La Rose, Steve Campbell, Theresa Arbuthnot, Lorne Rogers and Chris Couch and we asked them to bring forward a draft set of guidelines. These were then reviewed by Board members and the result will be in place on the first day of play. Bear in mind that these rules are a moving target. If the Government provides some specific guidelines, we will incorporate them, and as things improve, we will reduce the restrictions, again with the province’s guidance.

No matter which rules are implemented, some members are bound to feel that they are too restrictive while others will feel the opposite. We ask that everybody be flexible and understanding as we open the facilities and we’ll try to strike a balance that supports golf while protecting the health and safety of our members and staff.

We anticipate that our opening day should occur in the next two weeks. We have accelerated opening preparations for this coming week and we fully expect to be ready. We are still awaiting notice on whether the Government will be allowing a food and beverage operation at the start. We will also be announcing the operating rules before we open.  As proud owners, we’re looking forward to the return of golf at our favourite summer destination.

Mark Crerar
President

C.c. WGC Board of Directors
Sean DeSilva, General Manager

Monday, May 4, 2020

Wildlife at Whitevale

As the weather gets better not only does the turf come to life but so do the animals that call our club home. Last week while Chef Greig was on course, he we able to photograph a few residents enjoying the favorable weather. The first is an owl that was spotted to the left of the 11th green. The second is a garter snake who was occupying the front gate at the club. If you find yourself in the presence of any wildlife during your time at the club and can get a picture, please forward it along.


 

Friday, May 1, 2020

The Chef's Table.....Part 2

Chef Greig over the past few weeks has been providing some delicious recipes and food ideas. Seeing as a lot of us have extra time on our hands until the season gets started, a couple of members have been putting them to good use. Our latest came from Nancy Roncone who made french onion soup and does it look good. Nancy's husband Paul even said it was almost as good as chefs which is great to hear. Thank you Nancy for sharing your creation and for any other members who are busy in the kitchen please pass along your photos!